Deep Impact - Contingency Plans for Comet Threat
Spurgeon Tanner:
Could I bother everyone for a minute? Let's take a look at the big one. Now the outgassing has created a vent a half a mile wide and at least two miles deep. Comet gets closer to to the sun, sun melts the ice, ice turns to steam, we get a big hole, O.K.? So, how many nukes we have left in the back?
Mikhail Tulchinsky:
We have four.
Spurgeon Tanner:
If we get the remaining bombs in that vent, there shouldn't be anything left in that comet bigger than a suitcase. We can't do anything about the little one, but it just might give them a chance. Without the arming codes, we're going to have to wait to set the bomb timers until we get closer to Earth to raise Houston.
Mikhail Tulchinsky:
We may not have enough life support left to get back into the cargo bay for the nukes, much less go down with the comet.
Mark Simon:
We sure as hell don't have enough propellant left in the Messiah to manuever with. How do we set the nukes inside the comet and get out before they blow?
Oren Monash:
We don't.
Andrea Baker:
Look on the bright side. We'll all have high schools named after us.
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